Sydney man sets sex worker alight after falling in love

The 34-year-old was doused with petrol and set on fire by Mohammed Fouani. Credits: 7 News

CCTV cameras operating in an inner-city Sydney street have captured the moment a sex worker was lit on fire as punishment for not leaving her profession.

The horrific attack was undertaken by a teenage boy hired by Mohammed Fouani, who despite being married, had fallen in love with the woman and tried to convince her to ditch her line of work.

She continually refused, and Fouani hired a man to set her on fire as penance, requesting that he steal her handbag to make it look more like a robbery than a deliberate attack on the woman.

In disturbing video of the incident, the assailant can be seen carrying a milk carton filled with petrol and a lighter towards her, before dousing her and setting her on fire. The 34-year-old survived but was left with serious burns.

She underwent a series of operations and spent a number of months in hospital after suffering burns to almost half of her body.

The teenage boy who lit the woman on fire has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Fouani is due to be sentenced in September, and is expected to get somewhere in the region of 25 years' jail for his crimes.